July 22, 2007

Senator Street Duane Reade Closed - Lets Replace it with a Key Food!

I wasn't surprised to see that the Duane Reade at Senator St/Fourth Avenue Duane Reade has closed. I wasn't happy when it opened a few years ago. It gave Bay Ridge a new box drugstore, which it did NOT need ( there's a Rite Aid two blocks away ), and it took the place of the A&P/Waldbaum's Supermarket, which the neighborhood needed badly.

This part of Bay Ridge has no real supermarkets. I can drive to the Key Food on 95th Street, or to the Pathmark at Borough Park, but a lot of the retired or otherwise car-less people do not have that option.

This location is not huge, but it is as big as some very successful Key Food supermarkets.

I think that a Key Food supermarket would be the perfect tenant for this location. It would have no competition. Please hit "contact us" at the bottom of the Key Food website and ask them to consider moving to Senator Street and Fourth.

18 comments:

Key food, why? Their produce isn't all that fresh, and they don't carry many organic, non-mass produced products. Let's get a Trader Joes in there, or turn it into an open market space for locals to bring foods and goods several days a week. Can you imagine a Bay Ridge/Sunset Park merchant haven, like in the old countries many of us come from?

I happen to think that the best store I've ever shopped in is the Fairway Market down in Red Hook. But they're not coming to Senator Street either. Like most supermarkets now, they want very large space, which this location does not have.

I think Key Food strikes the right balance. They have low prices on products that most people want, and they have a proven ability to make a go of spaces like this.

I like organic and non mass produced food, but what we really really need is a place that runs right down the middle of the road--a small, clean, well run supermarket with good sales.

I want the Key Food that I occasionally shop in at 95th St/Third Avenue to be cloned and opened right here. I'd shop there, and I'd ask all my friends to shop there too!

See, that makes me sad. I liked that Duane Reade, and I liked it far better than Rite Aid. The Rite Aid never had any of the baby supplies I needed when my son was a baby, there never was anyone at the photo counter whenever I needed to drop photos off or never had photos ready when they promised and kept us waiting at the counter for an hour "because we will be done in a second", and the staff was generally rude or clueless about anything in the store. The Duane Reade people were friendly and looked like they liked being there. They always had food and drinks and baby-paraphenalia, not empty shelves. The photos were prompt and good quality, and the pharmacist was never in a rush, taking the time explain everything. Yes, Bay Ridge has too many big-box pharmacies (Rite Aid, Duane Reade, and an Eckerd, all within a 5 block stretch), but the Duane Reade on Senator Street was by far the best one.

I wish the Mom and Pop stores well, and I go out of my way to support them. Esp my pals in Sunnydale Farms at Third Avenue and 68th Street

But they should not have a captive audience. Supermarkets in places like Bay Ridge can easily coexist with small food stores. When that A&P was going strong, so was Drewes', Najmy's (Ovington/Fourth) and all the others.

The shopper should have the benefit of the lower price and the broader choice that a supermarket can give. Actually, most of from this part of Bay Ridge still do--we go to the Pathmark stores in Borough Park or Cropsey Avenue, or the Key Food or Food City out in the 90s, or the wonderful Fairway on Red Hook.

The only people that do not have that choice are the many older people in Bay Ridge that do not have cars. It is wrong that they have no access to a good market.

------

Looks like the issue is moot. I stopped into the laundromat next door, and the (unconfirmed) report from the man behind the counter there is that the place "has already been rented" by "another discount store".

So we we will continue to not have the food store that we do need, while we get another store selling garbage and trinkets and trash, by some schmuck who will be out of business in a year and wondering why.

I liked that Duane Reade. It was clean and well run, unlike that ratty Rite Aid on Bay Ridge Ave. & 4th. I HATE that store, and would rather schlep my sundries home from the city rather than shop there even if it's right off my subway line.

The A&P that preceded the DR on Senator was also a rat hole.

What is it about this particular section of Bay Ridge that cannot tolerate a clean and well managed business?

While we're at it, can we get the police or someboy to annihalate the God forsaken block of 5th Ave. between Ovington and Bay Ridge Avenue? I don't know what it is about that block that attracts every low-life and sidewalk pee-er. Oh wait, it's the lazy and apathetic business owners who won't chase these people away.

I don't know what people are talking about with the Duane Reade that was there. The Rite Aid was and is FAR better than the DR, hence the reason it is still open.

The people at DR were rude all the time and the place had nothing but pharmacy type supplies. At least at Rite Aid you can grab chips or a frozen dinner.

And for the folks who would rather pay an arm and a leg at the ma and pa shops, go right ahead. I would live to have a chain store within walking distance so that I don't have to unpark my car and drive to Pathmark everytime I need to shop.

Again, my only real beef with the Duane Reade was that it replaced a badly-needed supermarket.

But another thing--a couple of years ago, I needed to buy some prescription eye drops. I compared prices--of the three places I checked, that Duane Reade was by far the most expensive. The 69th Street Rite Aid was cheaper. And Lowen's on 69th and Third was far cheaper than both of them.

I've heard of others who have had similar experiences.

Places like Duane Reade give you good prices on certain sale items but they appear to rob you on the prescription drugs you buy from them.

Oh yeah and the parking lot can make up for the much needed space everyone wants so bad so just extend it and all will be well we do need a supermarket here this is Brooklyn Baby everything is supposed to be within walking distance and we need fair prices sales on cereals bread soda meats come on people they are needed and I think both Rite Aid and DR stink the manager at RA is so constipated and dr had nothing and they were rude and out of date~!!!

This week there are signs out that say "American Place" and its discount clothes and housewares. Looks like a lower end Century 21 or on par with Bergament (Pergament? I can never remember). I live around the corner and will update with more details as they come in if you are interested.

I'm sure many of you have noticed the trashy store on Senator. It's an absolute disgrace. They've been piling loads of garbage out in their parking lot. They leave dumps of clothes out front for people to scavenge through like dogs. I had such high hopes for this space. What's worse, is that if this persists, this section of Bay Ridge will suffer terrible consequences. After the tornado a few months back, Leif Ericson Park was destroyed, and some of the fences are still down. I was worried about what this would do to the neighborhood. But now we have this junky flea-market type store entering our neighborhood. Please, report this to the better business bureau, Marty Markowitz, and anyone else that should know. Bay Ridge is a peaceful and beautiful place to live, we need to move forward, not step back five years. Please spread the word, and bitch like there's no tomorrow.

I think they should put back the plaza that was there before they straightened out Senator street. There was an old bus yard or something (quasi vacant lot) where those med buildings are off the corner on right . The street only curved to the left onto Third Ave. Also put back that big tree that was in the middle of the sidewalk about mid block on the 67th str side of the street between Ridge and Third. My time frame was late fifties.

I agree with supporting all of the mom and pop stores, but it seems to me like there all run by one race of people ( you know who they are) and they all send the money back to thier countires, instend of regenerating it back to bay ridge.